knowledge attitude and practices about bacterial sexually transmitted infections among adolescents aged 15 to 24 in kasambya village wakiso district

Description

Background: STIs are infections that are passed from an infected person to another through sexual contact such as vaginal, anal routes as well as other non-sexual means. In Uganda, approximately 47% of sexually active adolescents between 15 and 24 years of age are affected by STIs, 42% of which are curable. This study sought to assess the level of awareness of bacterial STIs among adolescents, their attitudes and practices towards STIs as a measure of curbing transmission. Methodology: The study was cross sectional quantitative data involving 101 adolescents who were selectively sampled. Data was collected through interview questionnaires. Results: The major source of information about bacterial STIs to the adolescents was found to be schools and institutions. Syphilis and gonorrhea were the main bacterial STIs correctly known by a small proportion of the respondents. There were more sexually active female respondents than male with an overall peak age at sexual debut being 15 to 17 years. Condoms and abstinence from sex were the main modes of protection considered by 58.4% and 21.8% of the respondents respectively. Only 28.8% of the sexually active participants reported using condoms. Conclusion: The study established that the overall knowledge of adolescents about bacterial STIs was low, with a variable attitude towards bacterial STIs. Their practices towards prevention of transmission of bacterial sexually transmitted infections were generally poor. Recommendations: Allocation of funds for the implementation of sexual and health education in schools as a part of the curriculum to increase awareness of adolescents about bacterial STIs, boosting provision of adolescent friendly services to youths in the community so as to enhance a positive attitude and health seeking behavior towards bacterial STIs and routine sensitization of the general public to enhance the awareness was recommended.